What Makes You Stronger
by heidilynn
Summary: What was Blaine's story like before Dalton and Kurt?  What was the final straw that sent him to Dalton?


Title: What Makes You Stronger  
>Author: Heidi<br>Rating: R

Disclaimer: These are not my characters and I am making no money off of them.

Notes: Again thanks to Cindy, my BFF and idea lady. You rock out!

Summary: My version of what I see as Blaine's back story.

Blaine dreaded opening the door to the house. He knew his dad was home and would see the bruises on his face and the bruised knuckles on his hands and he wasn't in the mood for another lecture on fighting.

"Well, you're about an hour late." Miles Anderson thundered at his son, taking in the expensive shirt that was stained in dirt and blood. "Have you been fighting again?"

"Dad…"

"No, Blaine. I am tired of having a son who's in trouble all the time for fighting at school. Do you not realize that I work with your classmate's parents and I have to hear about how you aggressively attacked their child?"

"They started it." Blaine felt stupid for resorting to that, but his father wasn't listening to him and it was pissing him off…not that his father would actually stand up for him.

"God, Blaine. I don't give a damn if they started anything. You are the one who is always in trouble and I am just so tired of it. All you do is make excuses for your behavior."

"Dad…" Blaine didn't even know how to talk to his father anymore.

"No, I don't want to hear it anymore. You're grounded for three months, starting now."

"What?" Blaine stared unbelievingly at his father. "What are you talking about?"

"You are going to go to school and come home every day for the next three months. In those three months, you'd better do some soul searching and figure out a way to stay out of trouble and keep those slipping grades up. Yeah, I saw the report card you tried to hide from us. If I even get one phone call, Blaine…I promise that it won't be pleasant for you. Now, go to your room and stay there. I'll have one of the staff bring you dinner since your mother is at an art gallery function tonight and I have a client dinner."

Blaine trudged up the stairs to his room. He'd purposefully picked a room on the third floor because it was the farthest he could get from his parents and their ridiculous rules. Of course, it was his fault for fighting and defending himself from bullies that started the fight. Blaine understood that fighting was wrong, but you had to stand up for yourself against those who lived to make your life hell on a daily basis. His father would never listen and quickly blame Blaine. His mother was an absentee parent if there ever was one. Blaine usually only saw her once a month and that was if it was a good month.

He wondered why his parents ever had children in the first place. Oh yes, he knew that Damien, his older brother by two years, was the perfect son who excelled in academics, sports, and had an equally perfect blonde girlfriend. Marina, his younger sister, by one year, was the ideal daughter who smiled right and dated the right boys. He was the odd one out in their perfect family because even though he was highly gifted in academics, he was gay and that didn't fit their family image.

*Break*

Blaine held his arm close to his side in the sling. The Sadie Hawkins dance had ended in disaster. His date hadn't been too badly injured, which Blaine was thankful for, but he was worried about himself. His parents hadn't spoken since his father yelled and screamed in the ER for over an hour while the doctors had treated him and released him. One of the nurses had given him a card with hotline numbers. The kindness in her eyes was more than even his parents had provided him. That nurse had made him feel more at ease than his own family ever had.

Blaine stepped into his room and stared at the red folder bulging with papers sitting on his perfectly made bed.

"Mom?" He turned around and looked at his mother, who looked back at him with vacant eyes.

"Blaine, we've decided this was best." Miles Anderson spoke, stepping in front of his wife. He'd handle this like he handled everything else with his…son. "This was in the works before tonight, so don't think that the incident at the dance caused this sudden development."

"What is it?" Blaine asked, not understanding what his father was telling him. He'd busted his ass in the last four months to keep his grades up and not get caught for fighting. No, Blaine had simply taken what the bullies dished out and kept quiet. Of course, packing extra clothes to hide the bloodied and torn ones had helped to keep a lot hidden, too.

Miles refused to buy his son's lonely look. Blaine had perfected those looks as a child and he'd never bought into them, even then and especially now. "Those are transfer papers to Dalton Academy in Westerville. You are officially enrolled and will be starting there on Monday morning."

"The private school?" Blaine asked. He'd heard of the school since two of his friendlier classmates talked about the boys they were dating and how they went to the fabulous private school.

"The private boarding school. We, of course, paid extra so you could have a room to yourself so you can't get into anymore trouble with a roommate." Miles had already heard earfuls from his clients and potential clients about Blaine's fighting in school.

"Why now?" Blaine was curious as to why this was coming now. Why it couldn't have come months ago when he really needed an out?

"I told you if you were fighting again at school, that there would be severe consequences and this is that consequence. The maid found several bloodied and torn shirts you'd tried to throw away in the garbage and brought it to my attention. I am so disappointed that the son I raised turned out to be like this." Miles gave his son a hard look.

"Dad…" Blaine had thought he'd been sneaky, but apparently not enough.

"I can only hope that you will take the time while at your new school and think about what landed you there. I expect that Dalton will not be calling me or you will find yourself on the streets, Blaine. I don't have the time or energy to deal with any more of this crap."

"Okay." Blaine didn't know what else to say. He was in shock that his own father would threaten to throw him out.

"I think you would be a little more grateful, Blaine." Miles sneered at his son. "We had to cancel our European Ski Trip to pay for this school. Your brother and sister are quite disappointed that we'll have to go to Aspen instead for Christmas. You know how much they were looking forward to that trip."

"I was looking forward to that trip too." Blaine said quietly, but he could deal with Aspen. "But Aspen will be nice too, especially at Christmas."

"Oh, you aren't going on any trips with us during the holidays. Boys who screw up don't get to do special things with their families. You're going to be spending the holidays at school, studying and staying out of trouble."

"All right. I understand." Blaine didn't really understand, but he was so tired of fighting with his family, that he was just giving up. Hell, Christmas might actually be a time of joy this year, even if he was alone.

"Get packing. Your uniforms will be waiting at the school for you when you move in on Sunday afternoon. Make sure you take anything you might want there because your mother needs a new office and this is perfect. We aren't a storage center. There are boxes in the hall for you as well as tape and labeling stickers. You'd better get to work, Blaine. Only so many hours left in our house."

"Understood." Blaine understood that he was pretty much being kicked out of his house and family. He could only hope that Dalton was different; that he'd make friends and be happy somewhere for a change.

*Break*

Dalton Academy looked forbidding as they drove through the gates and onto the spacious grounds. If he hadn't been sent here as a punishment, Blaine was almost sure he would have loved it here. At least it looked welcoming from the outside image.

"Get out." Miles Anderson thundered at his son. "Make a good impression."

"Yes, sir." Blaine snapped at his father and carefully climbed out of the car, careful of his arm still in the sling.

"Welcome to Dalton Academy. You must be the Andersons." A nice boy greeted them when they walked into the dorm lobby. "My name is David and I am the dorm monitor for the building."

"Fabulous." Miles replied dryly at the energy and happiness this stranger was showing them on a Sunday afternoon. "Where's his room?"

David was not accustomed to being snipped at by a parent, but he made sure the smile was on his face. "Blaine has a single room on the second floor. His room is between mine and the other dorm monitor, Wes." He hoped by placing the new kid between him and Wes, it would make the transition a little easier. "We felt that was best considering Blaine is a mid-semester transfer and might have some adjustment issues."

Miles was pleased with that bit of information. At least his kid wouldn't be able to sneak away or come in late here. "Wonderful. Blaine, I do not expect a phone call from either the school or your dorm monitors that you are fighting or getting in trouble here, as well. You know the next step from here."

"Yes, father, I do." Blaine quietly replied. He didn't mind having a single room or where he was placed in the dorm. He could only hope he'd make friends that wouldn't mind he was gay. It was the idea that he didn't want people to think he was a troublemaker, but his father was already planting that seed today…so much for trying to fly under the radar and get the lay of the land, so to speak.

Miles was not deterred by his son's obvious embarrassment. "Now, I don't want you harassing any of the other students here in your quest to find a boyfriend since this is an all boys school. I won't bail you out of jail if you get arrested for something of that distasteful nature."

David stood back and watched the interaction. Oh, the new kid was gay. That was so not a problem here. "Oh, don't worry Mr. Anderson, there are quite a few students here who are gay, so I don't think Blaine will have any trouble making friends or finding a boyfriend, if he wants. There's plenty of time and socialization on campus. We have a variety of clubs and activities that will appeal to any interests Blaine might have."

Miles face twisted in disgust as he watched Blaine take in that information and smile for the first time all day. His son smiling because a stranger was nice to him was just awful. This was not supposed to be a reward for his son who was clearly pleased with the information about other gay students and that made him angry.

"Do you want to get your things, Blaine?" David asked, breaking the tension between them. "Mr. Anderson, there are several guys in the lobby who would love to help unload the car and help get Blaine settled in here since I know you have a long drive home."

"Get them please." Miles was barely holding his temper. "I would like to get home to my family. I know my wife and children are waiting on me to get back so we can go out to dinner at that fabulous Italian place that just opened."

David couldn't believe how Blaine's father talked about him as if he wasn't there. It sucked to have a crappy family and really felt for the new kid. They'd do whatever it took to make sure he realized that he wasn't alone at Dalton.

Blaine stood uncomfortably next to his father's car as the last box was unloaded. He was sure that his father would have some words of 'wisdom' before he left. Blaine had no idea when he'd even see his own family again.

"Now, the school will be forwarding me all your report cards, so don't get any ideas about trying to hide bad grades." Miles glared at his son, trying to be intimidating. "Don't bother calling your mother to complain about conditions here to get her to let you come home. Your mother and I agree that this is the best situation for everyone."

"I understand." Blaine understood that his mother would never stand up for him against his father. He was used to it.

*Break*

"Thanks for your help." Blaine gave a small smile. Everyone had been so friendly and helpful since his arm in a sling and he could only do limited things. He'd set down on the bed and directed the other boys on where to put his things.

"It was our pleasure. We don't get many transfers in the middle of the school year. We know it's going to be a tough change, and our doors are open if you want to talk about anything." Wes and David looked at the boy who still looked so downtrodden.

"Thanks so much." Blaine was grateful for their kindness and they didn't even know him. "I think I'm going to grab some dinner if you could show me where the cafeteria is here." Blaine was hungry. It had been hours since breakfast since his father had refused to stop for lunch on the drive up.

"Oh, there's no cafeteria. We have dining halls that are open 24-7 since we're teenage boys who are hungry all the time." Wes laughed. "When you get your student ID tomorrow, you can eat at any of the dining halls on campus. Come on and we'll show you the one here. The homemade beef stew and biscuits are to die for."

Blaine followed his new friends. Maybe he'd actually come to like it here. Everyone had already been so nice. This could totally work out for him.


End file.
